safe and secure - lockaway self storage london nw8

Any first time self storage customer needs to know the answers to a few questions before giving over their belongings to a firm they don’t know.

It’s not unusual for some back street storage and removal companies to have unsuitable damp and dirty premises with little or no security that can ruin fragile items.

So here are a few key pointers that will sort the self storage experts from the cowboys:

Climate control

It may seem stupid to ask if stored belongings are kept in air-conditioned rooms, but damp is the number one cause of damage to fragile items. Self storage rooms without climate control are subject to extremes of hot and cold, which causes condensation.

If the air is not circulating in a storage room and condensation forms, this causes damp in clothes, upholstery and documents. Damp also warps heavy furniture like wooden table tops.

Tight security

The customer is the only person who should have a key to a self storage room. Good self storage centres have state-of-the art alarm systems with PIN access and 24/7 CCTV. Most have sophisticated fire and smoke alarms as well.

Easy access

Squeezing too many units in to a self storage facility leads to accidents and poor access. Corridors should be well lit and wide. Corners should have room to turn a trolley. Drive up access for vehicles and plenty of parking if the loading bays are busy is a must.

Long opening hours and staff on site

Most busineses can arrange 24/7 access to external containers, but householders and students really need day time and early evening access every day, including weekends. Having staff available in case of problems is also helpful.

Insuring belongings

Cheap, comprehensive insurance is vital in case belongings get damaged in self storage. Most good self storage firms can arrange insurance or personal cover can be obtained from a broker.

Any self storage centre that ticks the ‘yes’ box for these pointers is showing the needs of customers are considered and the staff care about looking after the belongings left with them.

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Paying top dollar for a second-rate self

Searching the web or flicking through the Yellow Pages will turn up dozens of storage centres within a few miles of your home or business and most will offer the same space at a similar price.

Watch out for the cheapest. In the end you get what you pay for and if one storage facility is offering the same space at a massive discount on everyone else, there has to be a reason why.

Comparing what you get for your money across several self storage centres is difficult without spending hours visiting and checking out each one.

After all, they are going to have decent testimonials on their web sites and their staff would say they are the best, wouldn’t they?

Priorities for self storage vary from person to person, but generally, the lists are pretty much the same but in a different order:

Cost: Calculate this as a cost per cubic foot by multiplying the floor area by the height and then taking the figure and dividing the total rental cost.

For example, the unit measures 10 feet deep x 6 feet wide and 8 feet high, which gives a total of 480 cubic feet.

Now take the rental cost per week and add the insurance cost per week and any other charges (If there are any!).

Let’s say the cost is £22 a week. Divide £22 by 480 = 0.046 per cubic foot per week.

Security: Staff on the premises for long opening hours, a good security fence and CCTV for out-of-hours monitoring are the basics to expect.

Storage conditions: Climate controlled storage is a must because this stops condensation and damp damaging documents, photographs, fabrics and furniture. The storage centre should be brightly lit, clean and tidy throughout. If the staff have no respect for their own premises, they are unlikely to have any respect for your belongings.

Extras: Nice to have but not necessary are a courtesy van that’s clean, friendly staff who are keen to help, plenty of trolleys for moving your boxes and an in-store shop for packaging materials at discount rates.

If you have a choice of local self storage centres and the closest don’t come up to scratch, it’s worth travelling the extra few miles and paying a few extra pounds for good service, safe and secure storage and peace of mind.

Anything else can be a false economy.

Lockaway Self Storage, based just off the Finchley Road in London NW8, is a leading, professional self storage centre that offers value for money plus everything you would expect a leading firm in the sector to deliver.

To find out more, phone 020 3283 8794 and chat to one of our storage experts who will talk you through renting the right space for your needs at the right price.

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Students are prime targets for crooks who want to make a quick buck from selling stolen electronics like games consoles, personal stereos and laptops.

Carting heavy electronics, books and other belongings about is not practical for many students, especially if they are moving around for job experience or need to go overseas.

Often, finding somewhere safe to keep these valuables out of term time is a problem.

Lockaway Self Storage has had some degree of success with the solution – cheap and secure storage lockers that keeps crooks out and gives students peace of mind while they are on work placements or holiday.

Secure self storage is somewhere where they can rely on to keep everything they own safe and sound so they can concentrate on work or enjoy a break from uni or college.

Lockaway Self Storage is a short stroll from Swiss Cottage tube or South Hampstead rail station and easy to get to from Abbey Road or the Finchley Road.

No-nonsense contracts and flexible storage space mean you can just pay for the storage room you use. If you need the space for a shorter or longer time than planned, then that’s not a problem either.

That way, if you are away longer than you thought, you don’t have to worry about what happens to your belongings.

When you do return, your possessions will be just as you left them because our secure storage is just that – only you have the key and no one has access to your storage room.

To find out more, call 020 3283 8794 to arrange renting some space with one of our friendly customer advisers. They can also help you sort out transporting your belongings with one of our clean vans and arrange any packaging materials from our on site store.

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As all classic car collectors realise, specialist cars have stringent insurance conditions and to make sure the car retains value, the right storage has to be provided.

Few classic car collectors are lucky enough to have the funds for one of just 36 170 mph Ferraris made in the early Sixties, and is widely regarded by many as the ultimate sports car.

Collecting and restoring classic cars has a huge following of enthusiasts.

Cars are lovingly restored to end-of-production-line condition and it’s a point of pride as well as sensible to maintain them like that, otherwise their value diminishes.

Self-storage is an ideal place to keep a classic car away from sticky fingers and the ravages of the elements.

Lots of classic cars are kept in draughty garages under tarpaulins, but serious enthusiasts realise the climate-controlled, damp-free and secure environment of a self-storage centre provides the best conditions for keeping their valuable asset at a reasonable price.

Lockaway Self-Storage has drive-up storage that is just right for classic cars.

The rooms are cool, dry and clean, that helps keep the car pristine and rust-free.

Damaging ultraviolet is banished, as self-storage is windowless so the sun can’t take the sheen and lustre away from delicate paintwork.

Secure storage facilities with 24/7 CCTV coverage also mean the car is safe.

All the owner has to do is check up on the car and arrange to move any settled dust – that’s the one thing Lockaway Self Storage cannot guarantee will creep in to your storage room.

The market for top-end classic cars is buoyant, with a UK collector recently selling a 1930s Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 sports car for £12 million. A Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa sold for about £8 million in May 2009 and holds the record for a car offered in a public auction.

If you fancy buying in to your motoring dream, 50 classic cars are due to go under the hammer at Oxford on March 6.

The lots include a 1956 Bentley S1 Continental sports saloon, valued at a more modest £150,000  - £180,000 in comparison to the Ferrari.

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The idea is that customers who live miles away from a storage facility or don’t have a car can just box up anything they want to store and send it off to a self storage unit by parcel delivery.

Instead of renting a room, the customer pays by the size of the box and can store any number of boxes – from a single carton to the contents of an entire house.

The box can be sent back by priority overnight delivery or slower options to anywhere Fed-Ex delivers in the world.

Students, domestic and businesses can sign up

Any size box is accepted – from skis to a standard 14” cube.

The service offers all the standard features of self-storage – like clean, climate-controlled storage to protect delicate items from damp and condensation and state-of-the art security at the storage facility.

Domestic and business customers can sign up.

What can go in to storage is limited by Fed-Ex terms and conditions – the maximum box weight is 70lbs and the firm won’t transport dangerous or flammable substances.

Huge cost savings for customers

Customers can manage their boxes by photographing their possessions and storing the images online against a box reference number.

Storage is hugely cheaper than traditional storage – a single cubic foot box costs about $5 a month to transport and store against $86 a month for renting the smallest storage centre room.

For Lockaway Self Storage customers just looking for a small, cheap self storage solution, try our mini storage lockers that are about the size of a double wardrobe. This space is great for holding over a few items for students or renters and only costs a few pounds a week.

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After all, we are in London NW8 and realise other self storage businesses are not only on our doorstep but right by our customers as well.

We know our customers have a difficult time finding the right self storage room to suit their needs and sometimes it’s difficult to know what the difference is between some firms.

That empty space between the walls may be the same in all self storage centres, but that’s where the similarity stops between other storage facilities and Lockaway Self Storage.

That’s why Lockaway and our friendly and knowledgeable self storage centre staff go that extra mile in the hope you will as well to come to us.

• Customer service

We have customer service staff to provide customers with the solutions they want – like renting the right size room, helping with packaging materials and a van for moving and dealing with any problems fast and efficiently.

They will also look after your belongings better than if they were their own, from what a student can squeeze in to a mini locker to business customers with a container or more of pallet storage.

• Climate controlled storage space

Next comes presentation. No one wants to pay good money to have their belongings damaged by damp, dust or excessive heat or cold.

All the storage rooms at Lockaway are clean, dry and climate controlled to make sure what goes in comes out in just the same condition.

• Sophisticated security

Security is important as well. Lockaway Self Storage is protected by 24/7 CCTV, sophisticated electronic alarms and access systems plus state-of-the-art fire and smoke detectors. Only a customer has the key to their storage space, and once the door is locked, no one else has access.

• Easy access

Drive up storage, good lighting, plenty of trolleys and a fork lift are provided for easy moving in and out. Long opening hours and plenty of parking every day make Lockaway Self Storage convenient.

Our staff try and think of everything to make using Lockaway Self Storage the right choice for home or business customers. We know we have not reached anywhere near perfection yet, but what makes us a sensible option is that we try and improve all the time by offering you the best self storage experience we can.

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Most of us don’t like to throw things away ‘just in case’, but the problem is these unloved and unused possessions start stacking up and moving in on our lives.

If you have this problem in your home or business premises, then you need to consider renting storage space.

Self storage is a simple solution because you can rent the space you need for as long as you want.

This gives time to review whether you really do need something you keep in storage as the odds are if you haven’t opened the box for a year, you probably don’t.

At that stage, you have forgotten what you have in storage anyway, so the decision to throw things away makes itself.

Self storage in London is hard to find, as land for large storage centres is in short supply. That’s why most are on the outskirts of the city on industrial parks or take up repurposed buildings.

If you have a home or business near London NW8, Lockaway Self Storage, in Boundary Road, just off the Finchley Road, offers self storage from mini lockers up to containers.

For homeowners looking to declutter and regain some lost space, a small clean, dry and secure self storage unit is ideal. Mini lockers are a solution for students or tenants between digs looking for somewhere safe to keep their belongings.

Businesses can keep sensitive documents in storage, as well as surplus stock and unused furniture and equipment.

Lockaway Self Storage is within easy travelling distance of any home or business in Maida Vale, St John’s Wood, Paddington, Swiss Cottage and South Hampstead.

If you have a query about self storage in and around London NW8, then give us a call on 020 3283 8794 for the latest self storage offers, availability and costs.

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